


the best is yet to come

by yurishika



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-23 23:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2560232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yurishika/pseuds/yurishika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being eighteen years old means the beginning of many things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the best is yet to come

Michael sits up, awake, and when he checks his cell phone, the time reads one hour before midnight. He’d been tossing and turning ever since his mother told him to go to sleep, but he can’t find himself to. He guesses it’s expected; in an hour, it’ll be his birthday. And it’s not just any birthday—after all, it’s not every day he turns eighteen.

His mother won’t be amused if she finds out he lacks sleep. He was told by his coaches to take the day off tomorrow, but he’s expected to wake up early tomorrow because they’ll be taking a trip. For some reason, his family is tight-lipped as to where they’ll go, but he’s pretty sure they’ll just go somewhere to explore and eat or something. 

His phone lights up again, signaling a new message. Michael’s heart skips a beat as he recognizes the contact name. _“Hey. If you’re awake, can I call you?”_

Michael doesn’t reply. Instead, he immediately presses the Call button, which gets answered after the first ring. “Hey,” the voice from the other line says, sounding groggy. 

“Hey,” Michael returns, equally groggy. “You called.” 

“I’d like to be with you in the last minutes of your seventeen-year-old self,” Yuzuru says matter-of-factly. “How are you feeling?” 

He feels a grin spread to his face. “Pretty excited,” he says. He remembers that being eighteen is the beginning of new things—Coach Scott has consented to borrowing his car for a couple of drives, and going back home next month meant fixing documents that an adult should have. It’s a daunting prospect, but he’s looking forward to it anyway. 

“That’s cool. Are you awake so you can count down the minutes?” 

“Nah, can’t sleep. We’re gonna go out tomorrow.” 

“Good. Don’t train on your birthday. Go have fun.” 

They talk more, Michael making his voice soft, lest his mother comes barging in and sternly reprimanding him. Yuzuru’s in Shanghai right now, getting ready for his first Grand Prix event of the season. His back is doing fine, he assures Michael. He’s a little rusty after a month of not training, but he’s going to do his best. In turn, Michael updates him on how his training for Warsaw is doing, tells him of Denis being in the area in a couple of days and asking if they can have lunch. He finds himself repeating his stories from Chicago, but they’ve reached the point of the relationship where repeating stories is fine. 

He hears someone else from the other line—Nam, he recognizes—saying “Come on, Yuzuru! We’re going out for hot pot!” Yuzuru barks a “Go ahead! I’ll join you in a bit!” before asking, “What time is it there?” 

Michael pulls his phone off his ear, his ear hot, and checks the time—11:58. “Two more minutes till midnight,” he says. 

Yuzuru sighs. “Guess I’ll be two minutes in advance.” 

“Are you gonna make a speech?” Michael jokes. 

“It’s not long, but yeah,” Yuzuru chuckles in embarrassment. 

“Really?” Michael can already feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. 

“Yeah, really.” Yuzuru pauses and clears his throat. “Ready?” 

Michael gulps. “Ready.” 

“So ...” Yuzuru takes a deep breath. “I’m glad to have met and gotten to know you. I know we don’t see each other often, but I’m happy that we still share something special, even if it’s calls like these. You are one of the people who keep me grounded and who inspire me to do my best.” 

He feels the prickling of his eyes, and he wants to laugh at himself because it’s not like him to feel like this. But then again, Yuzuru had made him feel things he never thought he would feel, and he’s not complaining. He’s grateful to have someone like Yuzuru in his life. 

“So, happy birthday, Michael. I have a gift for you, but I won’t be able to give it to you until we meet again, so this’ll have to do, for now.” 

He has no words, other than “This is fine. Thank you, Yuzuru. You mean a lot to me, too. Wish you were here, though.” 

“I know.” He can hear Nam yelling something about Yuzuru taking the “boyfriends over bros” route, and he hears the older one groan reluctantly. “Listen ... I have to go ...” 

“It’s okay.” Michael lets out a yawn, the dredges of sleep creeping to him at last. “Talk to you soon?” 

“Anytime ... maybe not on practice times and competition times, but anytime.” Yuzuru chuckles. 

“Bye, Yuzu.” 

“Bye, Michael.” 

The call ends, and Michael looks at the time on his cell phone once more. It’s four minutes past midnight, and the date reads November 4. He’s officially eighteen, and things are just going to get better. 

He can feel it.

**Author's Note:**

> \- This fic is to celebrate the birthday of the Tropical Ice Prince. Happy birthday, Michael! All the best in your career! ^-^  
> \- I tried. I'm struggling with writing fics lately, but I hope you like this.  
> \- Many thanks to Clemencio for being my beta.


End file.
